On a night when a franchise legend had her jersey raised to the rafters, the Sparks played with inspiration and determination but were unable to snap their losing streak, falling to the New York Liberty 113-109 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.The Sparks (10-17) have lost six straight.Down 11 with 3:30 left, the Sparks pulled to within 112-109 on Nneka Ogwumike’s three-pointer with 15 seconds left, but Breanna Stewart sank the second of two free throws with 13.9 seconds left to ice it for New York (16-12).Despite the absence of leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who is averaging 23.9 points a game but has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the teams’ prior meeting June 25, the Sparks had a balanced attack with six players in double figures.Rae Burrell led the charge with 24 points, Ogwumike added 21 points and nine assists, Erica Wheeler had 17 points and nine assists, Ariel Atkins had 16, Dearica Hamby had 12 and Cameron Brink had 11 for the Sparks, who squandered a chance to inch a half game in front of Portland for fifth place in the WNBA’s Western Conference. The Fire (11-17) lost to Las Vegas earlier Tuesday.“I’m proud of my team — we were active and connected,” Sparks Coach Lynne Roberts said. “We scored 30 points off of 18 turnovers, we made more field goals than them and we had 35 assists, which is a franchise record. We just didn’t get rewarded with a win.”Stewart had 29 points and Sabrina Ionescu added 27 for the Liberty, who were without Leonie Fiebich (left foot soreness), Satou Sabally (concussion protocol) and Marine Johannes (left ankle). The Sparks trailed by only one point, 85-84, entering the fourth quarter.“Defensively we did a good job, our gameplan was correct but give them credit for making shots we didn’t think they’d make,” Wheeler said. Former Sparks player DeLisha Milton-Jones poses with family and friends during her jersey retirement ceremony during Tuesday’s game. (Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images) The Sparks paid homage to DeLisha Milton-Jones by retiring her No. 8 jersey in an emotional halftime ceremony. The 6-1 forward is the fourth player in the team’s 30-year history to be so honored, joining Penny Toler (No. 11 in 2006); Lisa Leslie (No. 9 in 2010); and Candace Parker (No. 3 in 2025).“Moments like this are well worth the wait,” said Milton-Jones, who spent 11 seasons over two stints in the purple and gold (1999-2004 and 2008-12). “I’m filled with pure joy and gratitude knowing my day has come to receive flowers of this magnitude for the legacy I’ve left within the game of basketball and the Sparks organization.”Milton-Jones played a pivotal role in the team’s back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002 and was nicknamed “D-Nasty” by former Sparks head coach Michael Cooper, a five-time NBA champion with the Showtime-era Lakers. Joining her for the occasion were husband Roland Jones and Parker.“We’re not just retiring a number, we’re retiring a legacy,” Parker said. The retired Sparks jersey of DeLisha Milton-Jones is revealed during halftime Tuesday. (Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images) Milton-Jones ranks third in franchise history in blocks (245) and fourth in points (4,018), field goals (1,509), rebounds (1,882), steals (440) and minutes (10,384). She represented Los Angeles in the 2000 WNBA All-Star Game and her 683 assists are the eighth-most in Sparks history.After allowing the first basket, the Sparks went on a 9-0 run, but back-to-back three-pointers by Ionescu pulled New York to within one. Ionescu scored 14 points in the first quarter, propelling the visitors to a 36-30 lead.“You need a re-set after the All-Star break and we wanted to win,” Burrell said. “We pushed at the end but the live ball turnovers cost us. This is a competitive league and things are not always going to go your way.”Ionescu was held scoreless in the second quarter as the home team turned its defensive intensity up a notch and carried a 56-53 lead into the locker room thanks to Burrell’s 13 points and Brink’s 11.Atkins finished with five assists and Hamby had four, Burrell had three and Brink had two assists and six rebounds despite not scoring in the second half. The Sparks led by as many as nine points on several occasions. “There are no moral victories but our execution was the best it’s been in a long time,” Wheeler said. “We just needed certain stops we didn’t get at the end. We’re not okay with losing but we don’t have to hang our heads.” The Sparks begin a three-game trip Sunday at Portland.“We’ll take them one at a time,” Roberts said. “If we play like this we’re going to come out with the right result. We can do this. We can play this way. New York has studs on their team and in the clutch they took over.” Plum’s future with the team is uncertain and the trade deadline is five days away. “For where we want to be everything has to be evaluated,” Roberts commented in her pregame news conference. “For where we are in the short term and where we want to be in the long term we’ve got to evaluate everything. I’m not going to get into specific players, I’m not in a position to do that but we’re evaluating everything. We’re not where we want to be right now. I’m not going to sugar coat it. Everyone is committed to getting this franchise where it needs to be.”
